Special needs school’s expansion means more learning opportunities
The Comprehensive Learning Center (CLC), a school for students in the autism spectrum, expanded to accommodate more students this fall.
The nonprofit independent private school, located in Southampton, added about 6,000 feet of classroom space, and was ready for students at the start of the school year.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the expansion, which will hold school programming for both elementary and secondary students, was held Aug. 6 at the school.
The new expansion holds classrooms, a conference room and offices where students will learn to work in an office setting.
The new structure also holds a kitchen designed for teaching cooking skills and an expanded gym area for physical education and leisure skills, such as bike riding and roller-blading.
The expansion was funded by grants and donations from local businesses and families of students at the school. Construction started about a year ago and ended in July.
The CLC opened in 2000 with three students and has grown to be an educational center serving about 20 students from Montgomery and Bucks counties. The school is licensed to serve students ages 3 to 21 and has 15 teachers on staff.
The school focuses on a method of teaching called “applied behavior analysis” that focuses on individualized programming for students.
Teachers work with students on self-care, social and prevocational skills, math, reading, writing and other academic subjects. The school also holds an open line of communication with parents, and teachers make home visits as needed in order to continue the school’s method of programming outside of the classroom.
“When students are at home, it is important that their parents know the same system,” said CLC director of education Amanda Heller.
In addition to attending classes during the regular school year, students attend a six-week extended school year over the summer months.
Through their educational experience at CLC, two students were able to transition back into their home school districts.
Heller is happy with the school’s expansion, because, though students continued to make great progress in the school’s previous space, she said, the expansion will greater serve the school’s current and future student population.
“There is a really great need for this type of programming for individuals with autism. In order to serve students and cater to their needs, we needed the additional space,” Heller said.
With the current addition, the school is able to enroll 25 to 30 students. In the future, Heller hopes to expand the school’s job skills training program for adult students in the new classroom and workspaces. CLC teaches secondary and adult students prevocational skills, such as office skills, maintenance, landscaping and the social components of the work world.
Current CLC student AJ Corless is employed part-time at an accounting firm doing clerical work, data entry, bulk mailing and filing.
“The earlier students receive this type of programming, the greater the likelihood that they may transition into a district or be able to hold a paying job,” Heller said.
CLC founder Joanne Corless started the school because she said when her son, AJ Corless, now 19, was diagnosed at the age of 3 in 1990 with autism, there were not many opportunities for students in the autism spectrum.
Currently, Joanne Corless, of Wycombe, is president of the AJ Foundation, which is the fundraising arm for the CLC. Joanne oversees and plans fundraisers benefitting school tuition for students.
Joanne wanted to start the school as a way to help other students through the applied behavior analysis method that was successful in educating her son and helping him become verbal.
“AJ thrived in this type of classroom. He learned so much so quickly it was amazing,” Joanne said.
The nonprofit independent private school, located in Southampton, added about 6,000 feet of classroom space, and was ready for students at the start of the school year.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the expansion, which will hold school programming for both elementary and secondary students, was held Aug. 6 at the school.
The new expansion holds classrooms, a conference room and offices where students will learn to work in an office setting.
The new structure also holds a kitchen designed for teaching cooking skills and an expanded gym area for physical education and leisure skills, such as bike riding and roller-blading.
The expansion was funded by grants and donations from local businesses and families of students at the school. Construction started about a year ago and ended in July.
The CLC opened in 2000 with three students and has grown to be an educational center serving about 20 students from Montgomery and Bucks counties. The school is licensed to serve students ages 3 to 21 and has 15 teachers on staff.
The school focuses on a method of teaching called “applied behavior analysis” that focuses on individualized programming for students.
Teachers work with students on self-care, social and prevocational skills, math, reading, writing and other academic subjects. The school also holds an open line of communication with parents, and teachers make home visits as needed in order to continue the school’s method of programming outside of the classroom.
“When students are at home, it is important that their parents know the same system,” said CLC director of education Amanda Heller.
In addition to attending classes during the regular school year, students attend a six-week extended school year over the summer months.
Through their educational experience at CLC, two students were able to transition back into their home school districts.
Heller is happy with the school’s expansion, because, though students continued to make great progress in the school’s previous space, she said, the expansion will greater serve the school’s current and future student population.
“There is a really great need for this type of programming for individuals with autism. In order to serve students and cater to their needs, we needed the additional space,” Heller said.
With the current addition, the school is able to enroll 25 to 30 students. In the future, Heller hopes to expand the school’s job skills training program for adult students in the new classroom and workspaces. CLC teaches secondary and adult students prevocational skills, such as office skills, maintenance, landscaping and the social components of the work world.
Current CLC student AJ Corless is employed part-time at an accounting firm doing clerical work, data entry, bulk mailing and filing.
“The earlier students receive this type of programming, the greater the likelihood that they may transition into a district or be able to hold a paying job,” Heller said.
CLC founder Joanne Corless started the school because she said when her son, AJ Corless, now 19, was diagnosed at the age of 3 in 1990 with autism, there were not many opportunities for students in the autism spectrum.
Currently, Joanne Corless, of Wycombe, is president of the AJ Foundation, which is the fundraising arm for the CLC. Joanne oversees and plans fundraisers benefitting school tuition for students.
Joanne wanted to start the school as a way to help other students through the applied behavior analysis method that was successful in educating her son and helping him become verbal.
“AJ thrived in this type of classroom. He learned so much so quickly it was amazing,” Joanne said.
